The books that have moved me the most are often those that tell stories about people in another country, in another time. They can be real destinies, but they can also be fictional stories in a realistic setting. Of course, there are never a single Truth and a story can be told in many different ways, but if you hear many people's stories, the story becomes a little more complete over time.
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ShareStories from different countries
When travelling, I love reading literature from that particular country. Academic books are great, but nothing beats the stories of the people. Here are some of the stories that have touched me the most over the years. Read when you visit the country! Or visit the country by reading ...
- Boliva – El Choco by Markus Lutteman
- Colombia – Even silence has an end by Ingrid Betancourt
- Egypt – House of Yacoubian by Alaa Al-Aswany
- Estonia – Stalin's cows by Sofi Oksanen, Purging by Sofi Oksanen
- France – Sarah's key by Tatiana de Rosnay, The elegance of the hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
- Iran – My Iran by Shirin Ebadi, My mum is a Persian princess by Sanna Sjöswärd
- Israel – Morning in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
- Kenya – The White Masai by Corinne Hoffman
- China – Empress Orchid by Anchee Min, Mao's last dancer by Li Cunxin, Wild swans by Jung Chang, Kingdom of the daughters by Yang Erche Namu, Red prosecutor by Xiao Rundcrantz, Babes in Beijing by Rachel deWoskin
- Croatia – Blackout by Johanne Hildebrandt
- Libya – No one in the world by Hisham Matar
- Morocco – Prisoner in the desert by Malika Oufkir
- Pakistan – K2 on life and death by Fredrik Sträng
- Poland – Nina's journey by Lena Einhorn, The man without destiny by Imre Kertész
- Romania – Bury me standing up by Isabel Fonseca
- Russia – House on the river Dvina by Eugenie Fraser, City of thieves by David Benioff, White on black by Ruben Gallego, I want to live by Nina Lugovskaya, Goodbye my Kursk by Vera Efron, The Angel of Grozny by Åsne Seierstad
- Saudi Arabia – Travelling in Sharialand by Tina Thunander
- Somalia – A flower in the African desert by Waris Dirie
- Sudan – Slav by Mende Nazer
- Germany – The book thief by Markus Zusak
- USA – Niceville by Kathryn Stockett, The dream by Harry Bernstein, Almost home by Kimberly Chang, Life-changing moments by Annika Östberg
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Emmy says:
What great book tips! Going to catch up on some reading here!
01 October 2012 - 5:43
Pia says:
Thank you for great book tips! I have also read "Begrav mig staende", a very good and thoughtful book!
01 October 2012 - 6:44
FANTSY DINING-A blog about themed restaurants & travel says:
So do I!
01 October 2012 - 10:40
Snows says:
I read Niceville because it was so good!
01 October 2012 - 20:32
Ditte says:
Thanks for the great book tips! I'll start grazing the ones I haven't read yet. I would like to recommend a book called "Sång till den storm som skall kommma" written by Peter Fröberg Idling (NoK) and it came out last autumn. The book takes up some human stories from Cambodia and further describes how Pol Pot came to power and life in the country during this time.
"Pol Pot's Smile"; a Swedish journey through Khmer Cambodia by the same author is also well worth reading to understand the horrors people were exposed to and which some of the Swedish cultural elite, despite visits to the country, deny. The book is fascinating!
Greetings!
01 October 2012 - 22:29
admin says:
Ditte, thanks for the book tips! Sounds interesting, I will look for those books!
02 October 2012 - 7:03
Anna in Qatar says:
What great tips! Thank you so much!
Have read the book about Saudi, a journey in Sharialand but thought it was a bit too biased from the beginning with a negative attitude. But it is not a super fun country ... However, there is a book about Saudi by a Saudi woman called Girls of Riyadh. Do not know if it is available in Swedish. Very interesting and genuinely tells about Saudi women's lives for better or worse.
05 October 2012 - 8:35